The Legend of the Headless Horseman
by Outsiders Obsessor
Summary: Slight AU. Will tells Alice, Anastasia, and Cyrus a ghost story that may just be true after all.


**The Legend of the Headless Horseman**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, because if I did, there would be a second season, or Scarlet Queen would be together in Storybrooke!

Will, Anastasia, Alice, and Cyrus sit around a campfire roasting s'mores. This is the first time Alice and Cyrus are having a campout, so Will intends for it to be the best time they've ever had.

"Does anyone know a good ghost story?" he asks with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"I don't know one," Ana admits as she puts some chocolate on her s'more.

Alice and Cyrus just shake their heads no.

"Well, lucky fir you lot, I've got just the spooky tale for a night like tonight," Will says with a devious smile.

Alice and Cyrus share a worried glance before curling up in a sleeping bag and giving Will their undivided attention.

"It all started on a night very similar to this one. The wind was slightly howling, and the leaves were beginning to turn orange and yellow. A regular camping trip was starting for a group of teenagers around our age," Will begins.

"How many friends were there, Will?" Alice questions, her voice already cracking in fear.

"There were four mates, good mates, out on a night like this one. They were roasting s'mores, just like we are, until something jumped out of the shadows and grabbed Chris by the back of his jacket," Will ominously says, his British accent coming out more as he talks.

Cyrus grips the back of his jacket cautiously, realizing how similar the name Chris is to his own name. The howling of a wolf can be heard not very far away. Alice tightens the sleeping bag around herself, fear shaking through her body.

"And then what happened, Will?" Ana asks her boyfriend.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. The three remaining friends searched for their lost mate in the woods. As they went on through the darkened wood, they heard the pounding of a horse's hooves behind them. The remaining trio turned around to find a headless man sitting on a horse with glowing red eyes. The friends instantly knew that this was the spirit of the Headless Horseman. The remaining lad told the girls to run and find Chris while he distracted the Headless Horseman. They did as he asked and went to find Chris. The two girls found Chris dangling by his feet in a tree, still alive, but with a nasty cut above his eye. Upon recognizing his friends, Chris begged to be let down. The three friends heard a scream and the sound of a gun not too far away. They ran towards the noise, fearing that Ana's boyfriend, Will, had been killed by the Horseman," Will continues with the ghost story before looking at his audience.

Alice is as white as a sheet as she grips the sleeping bag like it is her life support. Cyrus is violently shaking out of fear while casting a nervous glance at Will. Ana grabs Will's hand and does not let go, not caring that her knuckles are turning white in the process. Will purposely changes the names in his story to make his friends even more scared than they would have been.

"Is this story real, Will?" Alice barely squeaks out.

"It's as real as they come," Will answers with a smirk that none of the others seem to notice.

"Did they find Will?" Cyrus asks.

"Was he all right?" Ana adds to her friend's question.

"Who is telling the story here?" Will remarks as the two of them continue asking questions about what will happen next.

"You are," Ana and Cyrus softly answer.

"That's what I thought. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Hearing Will's scream, the other three friends run at top speed towards their campsite. Upon reaching where Alice and Ana left Will and the Headless Horseman, the three of them find a patch of leaves stained red with blood. Ana started to cry over the loss of her boyfriend before Alice brought something to her attention. There was a trail of blood leading away from the solid red patch of leaves. Ana quickly followed the blood trail and screamed when she came to the end of it. Will was lying in a crumpled heap, not moving, but still barely breathing. She knelt down beside her boyfriend and pressed a kiss against his forehead. Will slowly woke up and groaned as he came back to his senses. He was disoriented for a minute or two before telling his friends what has happened. The Headless Horseman had kidnapped Chris to serve as a distraction for getting revenge on all four of them. Some teenagers mocked the Horseman many years before, and he swore vengeance on all teenagers from that day forth. The four friends were the first teenagers to enter those woods since he made his vow of vengeance. He was very close to killing Will until Ana, Alice, and Chris came running towards their friend. After they helped Will up, the four friends got in Will's truck and drove away, making a promise to never return. The end," Will says, finishing his ghost story.

"That was the scariest story I've ever heard," Alice whimpers.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep now. I can't stay up anymore knowing that someone may kidnap me," Cyrus reveals as he crawls into the tent he is sharing with Will.

"Sleep well, mates," Will smirks as he adds more wood to the fire.

"Good night, Will," Ana tells her boyfriend before kissing his cheek.

"Good night, Ana," Will returns before kissing her lips.

Ana crawls into the tent she's sharing with Alice and gets comfortable in her sleeping bag. Shortly after, Will gets into the tent he's sharing with Cyrus and prepares to go to sleep himself.

None of the four friends know what is going to appear as they sleep peacefully.

The sound of galloping horse hooves wakes Will, Anastasia, and Alice. Cyrus, being the heavy sleeper he is, doesn't hear anything. Will quietly slips out of the tent to find a horse with a headless figure sitting on top of it. Nervous sweat rolls down his neck, and he is frozen in one spot. Ana and Alice let out a scream as the horse trots towards them. Will picks up a fallen log and swings it at the headless figure. He succeeds, and the figure falls to the ground. In triumph, Will walks over to inspect the headless rider.

"What the -?" he says aloud as he notices that the figure is just a fighting dummy with a deformed head.

Female laughter can be heard not too far away. A blonde-haired girl of about thirteen steps out of the shadows with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Did you enjoy my prank, Will?" the blonde asks Will.

"Bloody hell, Penelope! What was that for?" Will asks as he glares daggers at the younger girl.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold, older brother," Penelope remarks before Will begins chasing her around the campfire.

Yes, no campout is complete without s'mores, a fire, a good ghost story, and a little sibling rivalry.

**Author's Note: This was written as a prompt from my Writer's Guild club. The prompt was to include a campfire, a scream, and a lie that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Please review to let me know if I fulfilled the prompt, because I have to read it to my fellow writers on Wednesday. As always, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you to all of my lovely readers and reviewers! **


End file.
